TLC plans to return to 'Kate Plus 8'

TLC

Kate Gosselin, back row center, poses with her eight children.

Kate Gosselin, back row center, poses with her eight children. (TLC)

Patrick Kevin Day

It seems like a lifetime ago that America bid farewell to Kate Gosselin and her brood of eight kids, but it's been just three years since the final episode of "Kate Plus 8" aired on TLC. Time for a reunion!

That's not to say the divorced Gosselin is planning to meet back up with ex-husband Jon, but viewers will finally be reunited with the reality TV mom we all wanted to hate.

TLC has announced plans for a new one-hour special of "Kate Plus 8," set to air sometime in 2014. The special will bring fans up to speed with what Kate and her eight children have been up to since the series went off the air. Jon, however, won't be at the party. Kate's ex-husband is now a waiter living in the Pennsylvania woods, but earlier this year he told In Touch Weekly that he's working on his own tell-all book.

"Jon & Kate Plus 8" preceded TLC's "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" as the family reality show that briefly held Americans' gossipy obsession from 2007 until 2011. Unfortunately, the family couldn't withstand the twin pressures of raising a large family and sudden reality fame and the couple got divorced in 2009. "Kate Plus 8" was the new title, which debuted in 2010 and lasted for the show's final two seasons.

While Jon has been critical of having his children on a reality show, Kate has continued to go before the cameras. Most recently she appeared with her 13-year-old twin daughters on "Today" for an awkward interview with Savannah Guthrie in which the girls clammed up on live TV and Kate revealed what some described as the hectoring, stage mother side of her personality.

The real question will be if people still care to see the condition of the family now that their current attentions have been captivated by the considerably less refined "Honey Boo Boo" and "Duck Dynasty" clans. Perhaps Kate and the kids can just skip a shower.